Week of June 2

The heat of the summer has arrived at our Florida Home, along with late afternoon cloudbursts and dry spells that require some extra watering.  The heat also brings a new set of flowers, many of which we do not have “up north.”  One flower we do share is the gladiolus, except in the north the bulbs are planted each spring; in Florida they grow wild and come up each year for a nice bouquet in our kitchen.  Another summer favorite is plumbago, with bushes in the front and back yards.  The soft blue blossoms seem endless over the summer.  A real show-stopper are the crepe myrtles, of which we have three groups of bushes with heavy clusters of pink to purple blossoms.  The hot weather also brings on the flowering gingers, from the waxy red and yellow blossoms of the spiral ginger to the lovely white pearl gingers.  All this keeps the early morning stroll in the garden interesting, and the bees happy.